Tire Removal:

1. Lay the rear wheel sprocket side down and the front wheel brake side up.
2. Remove the valve core and loosen the rim locks.
3. Stand the wheel up and use the flat side of a tire iron to push the rim locks down, breaking them loose from the tire bead.
4. Lay the wheel down again and stand on the tire sidewalls with your feet pushing to break the beads loose from the rim. Sometimes a little soapy water at the tire/rim junction helps loosen the beads.
5. With the brake side of the wheel up, use the spooned end of your tire irons and insert them between the bead and rim. I suggest inserting them on one side of the valve stem or the other. Lever one at a time, working your way around the tire in small increments.
6. After the first side is removed, push the valve stem into the rim and pull the tube all the way out.
7. If your wheel has rim locks, remove them before beginning removal of the second bead.
8. Remove the second bead by inserting a tire iron under the bead of the brake side of the wheel, then lever the tire bead over the rim and push it off.
9. Clean the bead area of the rim. Check the rim locks, rubber rim strip or tape covering the spoke nipples for damage.

Tire refitting:

1. Install one rim lock, lube one bead of the tire. Push down on the top of the tire and insert one side of the wheel and the rim lock into the bottom part of the tire. Begin levering the first bead on.
2. Insert the second rim lock if your wheel uses two. Before installing the tube, inflate it to make sure there was no damage done during removal. Check the nut at stem area for tightness and look for cracks in the stem. Leave just enough air in the tube for installing so the tube holds its shape.
3. Apply baby powder to the outside of the tube and inside the tire. This prevents the tube from chafing while in use.
4. Install the tube in the tire carefully. Starting at the valve stem holes, evenly place the tube inside. Be sure the tube is not bunched up in any area or caught under the rim locks.
5. Lube the bead with a mild soap and water solution and push a small section of it under the rim near the stem area. Insert one tire iron and start levering the tire bead on, taking very small bites with each iron. Stick the iron in just far enough past the rim edge being careful not to catch the tube.
6. With each bite, check that the bead of both sides of the tire is as far down in the well of the rim as possible.
7. After the final bead area is installed, be sure the rim locks and valve stem move freely.
8. Inflate the tire and seat both beads. Should the beads not seat properly, do not over-inflate. Relube the bead areas with soapy solution and reinflate until seated properly.
9. After the tire is fully inflated, let the air out again then reinflate. This allows the tube to settle inside the tire.
10. Tighten the rim locks and adjust the tire pressure.

For the beginning motocross rider, there are many difficult choices to make: from the best carburetion and suspension settings, what tire to use, etc. In this column, we'd like to help make your first tire choice the right one.

Where you ride is important. Before you select a tire, go look at a few large riding areas or racetracks in your district. The ground conditions where you practice may be completely different from those in an area where many people ride or race. Pay close attention to the conditions in all parts of the track, especially the start line.

If the ground is very dry—hard to the point where it doesn't break up when you kick it—you should consider a rear tire with a hard track tread pattern like Dunlop's D739 or D903 paired with Dunlop's D739 or D606 front. These tires put more rubber on the ground for maximum grip.

If the ground has a cushion on it and is rutted with deep berms, you probably need a soft track tire that will dig in on loose soil. Dunlop's D756 front and rear tire make an excellent choice.

Finally, if you live in an area where ground conditions vary from hard-packed to loose loam or sand, you'll want an intermediate terrain tire, like Dunlop's D739 paired with Dunlop's D756 front.

Remember to always maintain proper inflation pressure if you want the most from your tires. For hard conditions, 12-14 psi front and rear. For loose dirt with some hard areas, 12-14 psi front and rear. And for sand and mud, 14-18 psi front and rear.

Tires for use in desert, enduro and hare scrambles have three things in common: size application, a tread pattern that performs over a wide range of terrains, and a durable tread compound that will stand up to severe punishment and distance.

Most desert events in the U.S. and Mexico are run under dry conditions. The courses contain rock (large and small) with some tight, twisty trails, but most are hard-to-sandy open trails and roads, and evenly paved section that can be taken at high speeds.

Desert events require a special type of tire:

• The tread compound must resist knob tearing from rocks and provide minimal wear over long periods of time. And, since desert speeds are far greater than those in motocross or enduro events, they must also be able to resist heat buildup.
• The casing construction must resist punctures and optimize stability over a range of speeds.
• The tread pattern must resist wear, provide maximum grip, and clean well under a wide variety of conditions.

Desert inflation pressures vary, but generally 14 psi is the minimum and 18 psi is the maximum.

Dunlop offers two excellent desert tires: the D739 Desert A/T rear and the D606 front. Tires for enduro and hare scrambles are similar since both are primarily run in softer, wetter, muddier terrain with slippery rocks and areas with exposed tree roots. Since some areas of these courses can be hard and slippery, the tires must account for this as well.

• The tread compound used in these tires must provide an optimum balance between wet and muddy terrain traction and long-wearing durability.
• Casing constructions must flex readily for riding over slippery rocks and tree roots, yet provide ample resistance to punctures.
• The tread pattern should clean well, even under the worst conditions, yet offer predictable handling in dry terrain.

Inflation pressures for enduro/hare scrambles vary, but generally 14 psi is a minimum and 18 psi is a maximum.

Dunlop's D739 (Hard to Intermediate) will be a great choice for the courses that are a little more hard packed while the D756 (Soft to Intermediate) is an excellent choice for the muddier courses.

Developing a successful motocross tire requires a continuous schedule of race tire testing and development. Dunlop has race service teams on hand each week at motocross and supercross events across the country.

In return, these pro riders provide continuous feedback on tire performance to our engineers. Their feedback helps Dunlop perfect new tire technology before it becomes available to customers.

Dunlop's D755 front is the perfect example. In early 1993, Dunlop set out to develop the ultimate intermediate terrain front tire.

Hand-cut D755 prototypes were developed and privately tested for the next four months. During this time, the tread pattern and dimensions were revised several times.

By January 1994, D755s were supplied to Dunlop riders for the AMA Supercross Series. During the series, many tests were conducted to fine-tune the tire's tread radius, profile and dimensions for final production specifications.

Today, the D755 is available for anyone who wants the best in motocross performance. And, it's the perfect example of why tire manufacturers concentrate on racing development programs. It's just one more way Dunlop assures our customers of exceptional performance and quality.

In the early days of knobby tire development, quite often the same tread pattern was used for all track conditions. The primary difference in the tires was their rubber compounds, which were specialized for hard terrain or soft terrain. Generally, hard terrain tires had soft rubber compounds and soft terrain tires had very hard rubber compounds.

The speed and punishment a tire must now endure during a race or moto are far greater than in the past. As a result, yesterday's soft rubber tread compounds generally would wear too rapidly for today's racers.

Current tread compound development, however, is much more sophisticated. Tread patterns and compounds can be computer optimized and matched for specific track conditions. This new compounding technology allows high grip levels to be achieved without making the tread too soft for durability. By matching this compound with a hard terrain tread pattern, the best overall performance can be achieved. Dunlop's D903 is an excellent example.

Even soft terrain tires can benefit from the use of similar hard terrain compounding technology. The reason for this is that most soft tracks in the U.S. have a card base or cement start pad. Offering a tread pattern that cleans well on soft surfaces along with a high grip compound gives the tire a much wider range of use. Dunlop's D756 is an example of this type of tire.

Dunlop's intermediate tires use compound technology similar to that of our hard terrain tires. Because these tires are primarily used on dry surfaces, the emphasis is on high grip levels to achieve the best performance. Dunlop's D739 is a good example of this combination.

Whether it's for soft terrain, hard terrain or intermediate terrain, Dunlop offers the ideal combinations of performance characteristics for your requirements. Ask your Dunlop dealer what tire is best for you.

Buy a Dunlop Crescent Mousse and you get:

• 1 mousse
• 1 innertube
• 1 tire tool
• 1 tube of lubricant

Installation Instructions:

1. Apply about 3/4 of the supplied tube of lubricant sparingly to the outside of the mousse for a uniform, thin coating.
2. Insert lubed mousse into tire casing.
3. Apply the remainder of the lubricant to the part of the innertube that contacts the mousse.
4. Insert the innertube into the mousse.
5. Inflate the innertube slightly to help hold it in place.
6. When orienting tire/mousse assembly on the rim, position the rim lock cutout area on the mousse so that it lines up with the rim lock.
7. Line up innertube value stem with valve stem hole in rim while holding mousse so that rim lock cutout remains in place.
8. Lubricate both sides of the tire bead with a soap/water solution.
9. Pull innertube out slightly so that the valve stem can be positioned in the hole on the rim and secure stem loosely with nut.
10. Using tire iron, slip the first side of the tire over the rim.
11. Once one side is in all the way on the rim, pull that same tire bead over the second side of the rim only at rim lock area.
12. Push rim lock up and release tire lever to allow bead to slip back over rim and under the rim lock.
13. Make sure to push edge of mousse down inside rim to protect it from the tire irons when positioning remainder of bead.
14. Starting between the valve stem and the rim lock, begin levering the second bead over the rim working toward the rim lock.
15. Position the supplied Dunlop tire hold tool between tire and rim and push down over spoke and slide to hold in place.
16. Push the rim lock up and the lever bead over the rim.
17. Begin levering the bead on the rim continuing back toward the valve stem.
18. Place a tire lever between rim and tire and push down. This will keep tire in rim center.
19. Slowly continue to lever the tire onto the rim in small increments.
20. For ease of mounting, push as much of the bead down to the center of the rim as possible.
21. Once both beads are on, remove the tire tool and levers and inflate tire until beads are seated fully (up to maximum 40 psi).
22. Release air to allow the innertube to relax and center itself.
23. Inflate to 16 psi operating pressure.

NOTE: If tire beads do not seat properly, release air, relubricate beads and reinflate. Never exceed a pressure of 40 psi to seat tire beads. Before using, be sure to reduce pressure to 16 psi operating pressure.